Tucked away at the end of the First Election ballot was a referendum, one that had no marketing or campaigning but could pay dividends in years to come.
Carla Miller calls it one of the final puzzle pieces to combat possible corruption in the city.
Jacksonville voters agreed, approving by a 55-45 split to amend the city’s ethics and inspector general provisions to extend their reach to independent authorities and constitutional officers.
Locking that in has been seven years in the making for Miller, the city’s Office of Ethics, Compliance and Oversight director.
Miller spearheaded creating the Office of Inspector General for much of last year after she received caseloads that required such expertise.
She brought in former Palm Beach County Inspector General Sheryl Steckler to take a look at some of the cases. An idea for part-time hours dedicated to digging deeper into possible city waste, fraud and abuse was soon met with more and more cases — and a need for a full-time inspector general office. City Council agreed, signing off on the idea in October.
Steckler said City Council and the majority of voters had a clear goal and that the expanded efforts and oversight will be a positive for the city.
“It’s a good thing,” she said.
While the office has overview of city government, Miller said there always has been concern that the independent authorities could challenge the oversight “if anything significant occurred.” A local bill in Tallahassee or voter referendum were the only ways to lock them in.
“It’s like popping the last puzzle piece,” Miller said. “Now we’ve got it.”
The Office of Inspector General currently has three employees — Steckler, who is serving as an interim IG and starting the office from scratch; an investigator; and a contract oversight specialist reviewing procurement and the bidding process. A fourth position is being filled.
With the independent authorities and constitutional officers now locked in, though, there will be a need for more personnel. The referendum mentions the hiring of three subject matter professionals.
Steckler said the office has a budget of $206,000 through October.
A full-time inspector general could be in place this summer.
Miller said a barebones operation encompassing the entire consolidated city likely needs 10 people.
The office’s funding source is determined each year by City Council, instead of a dedicated revenue stream such as a fee tacked onto contracts. Miller said that was done on purpose. She said while council opinions and members can change over the years, showing the return on investment through savings each year will merit keeping — and even increasing — funding.
In all, 90,734 of 165,098 voters were in favor of the inspector general’s expanded reach.
Miller sent an email Wednesday morning to all the ethics officers on the staffs of those new additions, saying she is sure they have ideas to share and that “we can shape and make sure” the office is effective.
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